The inaugural final of the Crescent Cup ended in catastrophe on Sunday.
The clash between Malaysia and Algeria in the final of the Islamic international rugby tournament was abandoned after a savage brawl broke out involving players, officials and fans.
New Straits Times reported that an assistant referee had several teeth broken and sustained neck injuries in the while 10 players from both sides were treated for broken bones and cuts in the scuffle.
Malaysia Rugby Union manager, Mazuri Sallehudin, blamed the tournament organisers for the incident but accepted the MRU, which sanctioned the event, are likely to be held accountable for the violent scenes.
“I believe the Algerian players could have been frustrated due to communication issues with the referee whose English was hard to understand.”
“From the feedback we have received, the organisers did not have enough security personnel on hand to quell the situation quickly.”
Sallehudin recounted how some spectators became involved in the melee while trying to help a Malaysian player who was being ganged up by, six Algerian players.
“[One of our players] was attacked by six Algerians and it was at that point that the spectators went in to help him. We have already filed a police report on the incident and will have a council meeting to decide what action to take soon.”
Hat-tip to the Guardian
